Family Bonds
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: Zhane and the Astros are finally back on Earth after Justin's attempt and are coming to see him. Justin isn't sure he's ready for the team that abandoned him to meet the Pack that saved him, but he'll survive it. He's also planning to tell Zhane the full story of what happened. Nothing can go wrong this weekend. TW: Justin talks about his suicide attempt
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Trigger warning, Justin talks about his suicide attempt. Also Carlos is a dork. Enjoy!

* * *

It started with a phone call that sent Justin running for the most soundproof room in the house to answer. Laura was mostly busy supervising Derek and his chemistry lab partner, Wren Livingston, in the kitchen as they attempted to complete a series of take home science labs. She was mostly busy, because every so often, Derek would notice her filming their attempts and would chase after her to get the phone and delete the video.

Derek still hadn't managed to understand the concept of 'instant upload', and the flour explosion was topping two thousand hits on YouTube.

Laura was far too busy tossing Derek into the brick backing on the fire place to catch Wren's look at first, but when she returned to the kitchen to claim the last bottle of root beer in the fridge, Laura noticed Wren's expression.

"What?" She asked in challenge.

"Why do you throw him around like that? Derek could get really hurt," Wren said, meeting Laura's eyes.

Laura repressed her natural urge to growl or flash her eyes at the challenge. "Just because your family has different styles of interaction than mine does not give you the right to judge how we live. Derek and I grew up in a house where self defense, strenuous rough housing, and physical interactions were the norm. If Derek were hurt, he would tell me and I would stop. The possibility of injury is a risk we agree to, and while neither of us wishes to be hurt, we will not allow that risk to deny us activities we both enjoy."

"Don't worry about it, Wren," Derek said as he settled beside the girl, pulling her attention away from Laura. "I didn't even get a scratch. She didn't throw me as hard as it looked. Uncle Peter used to do worse."

Laura snorted, "That's not as comforting as you might think, Derek." She grabbed the pen and wrote 'root beer' on the grocery list. "I'm going grocery shopping on Sunday; make sure you've put everything you wanted on the list."

"Yes ma'am," Derek muttered.

"Hey Laura," Justin said, sticking his head in the kitchen. "Can I possibly pull you away from torturing Derek for a moment?"

"Sure," Laura said, she glanced at Derek, "don't blow anything up, I like our kitchen."

Derek stuck his tongue out at her before passing Wren the baking powder.

Justin led Laura into the study and pushed the door closed. "Is everything okay?" Laura asked.

"Yeah," Justin said slowly. "That was Zhane on the phone, you know, my brother."

"It's taken him long enough," Laura said, crossing her arms. "I thought you said Lightspeed contacted him three weeks ago."

Justin sighed, "Yeah, but he was working." He crossed his arms as well, "He's trying to track down information about… well, he's trying to find a mole. It's not going well. He was traveling in a really bad sector of space with just his wits and charm to protect him. The fact that Zhane contacted me at all could be considered a miracle."

"What did he want then?" Laura asked, not fully mollified. If she had been contacted about Derek _attempting to kill himself,_ she would have been on her way to her brother's side in seconds.

"He's coming to Earth," Justin said, "Well him and all the Astro Rangers. They want to come see me, but I didn't want to just invite some of the most famous Power Rangers onto your territory without permission."

Laura reached out to grip Justin's shoulder, "Of course they're welcome, Justin. Just because we're a pack doesn't mean you have to let go of your family. Not unless you choose to."

Justin's face hardened for a moment and he stepped back, "The Astros aren't my family Laura; except Zhane. They're just friends, that's all."

"Sorry," Laura said, "they're still welcome."

Justin nodded, and stared at the floor for a long moment while Laura tried not to fidget. "I want to tell Zhane."

"Okay," Laura said slowly.

Justin looked up at her, "Look, Zhane's my brother, well half-brother. My dad's human, but Zhane's mom? She wasn't. She looked human, and Zhane said once she lived on Earth for a while with Dad, but she wasn't genetically human. Zhane knows about being half human, _and_ he grew up on KO-35. It's not exactly the center of galactic society, but even before Dark Spector took over, KO-35 was a huge mining colony; they had a lot of traffic. Zhane won't blink when he finds out that werewolves are a thing." After a moment, Justin stared at the ground again. "I just don't want to lie to Zhane; he's the only family I have any more."

Laura bit her lip and considered it. She wanted to tell Justin no, because keeping the secret from people was her first instinct. They had fought too hard to keep hidden to let some newly bitten beta blab about it to someone. Then she considered _whom_ Justin was talking about telling. Laura had followed the Rangers just like every other kid in her class, she'd wondered if the Rangers would ever fight in Beacon Hills, and would she make a good Ranger. It was something every school kid did at some point. Everyone knew you could trust the Power Rangers, and that they protected everyone from the aliens who wanted Earth for their own reasons.

"Just Zhane," Laura said finally. "I understand that you feel that the Astros are trustworthy, but there are too many of us to risk an unwary comment. We don't want to become science experiments."

Justin grinned gleefully, "Yes! Thanks, Laura." He bounced on his toes, "I need to call Zhane back." He headed for the door.

"Justin," Laura said, catching his arm. Justin stilled, frowning at her in confusion. Laura pulled him into a hug. "You're welcome, and he's not the only family you have. You have us."

Justin hugged her awkwardly, letting go as soon as she let him. "Right," he said quietly, "I'm still getting used to that." Then he vanished out the door. Laura sighed, wondering if she'd ever get through to him. Then a crash in the kitchen called her back to her brother.

"We're okay," Derek shouted, "don't worry about it."

"Too late," Laura called back as she headed for the kitchen. This ought to be entertaining.


	2. Visitors

A/N: The Astros arrive, conversations abound. Also, I said I was going to do this and I didn't forget. (You know who you are and if you don't I'll email you.)

* * *

Two days after Zhane announced their visit, Justin found himself pacing the living room nervously. He liked the Astros, had built careful ties with the Rangers after learning the truth of what they had done, had learned to get along with his brother's teammates again to ensure he saw his brother regularly. He just wasn't sure how Zhane would take his decision to become a werewolf and how the Power reacted to him now.

Laura was in her study, working on an English essay and Petra and Derek were upstairs with the twins, leaving Justin to worry quietly and alone.

The doorbell rang.

Justin turned.

"All get it!" Derek shouted.

There were three running footsteps then a loud crashing thud that ended in the sound of breaking glass.

Justin ran out of the living room to find Derek carefully picking himself up off the floor surrounded by the remains of a particularly hideous vase. "I'm okay," Derek called.

"He broke a vase," Justin added. "Mind opening the door, Derek?"

"Sure," Derek said with a fanged grin. He swung the door open as the doorbell rang again. "Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Justin Stewart," Zhane replied.

Justin hovered for a moment, then remembered Derek's smile. "I'm here Zhane," he called, striding forward.

Ignoring the crunch of glass, Zhane shoved passed Derek and grabbed Justin into a tight hug. Justin closed his eyes and hugged him back, mindful of his strength. "Give me a good reason why I'm not taking you with me," Zhane murmured.

Justin rested his head against his brother's as he replied in Eltarean, "Because I just got settled into a new structure and taking me away could make my psychological traumas even worse? Because I'm OCD and the Megaship makes me twitchy? Because then you'd have no one to long distance prank when Andros is being too stupid to live? Because being around them when I'm Halidenari is even more painful than being alone?"

Zhane's response was distinctly uncomplimentary and Justin chuckled, "Not sure that's possible, Z." He looked over Zhane's shoulder at the rest of the team as he carefully breathed in his brother's scent. Under the faint taint of the city and the stale recycled air of the Megaship was the scent of Zhane; ozone, mint, a little sugar, and rain.

"Derek, go get the broom and clean up your mess," Laura said as she approached.

Derek stared at Laura for a long moment.

As Laura reached her brother, she gripped his shoulder and whispered, "Clean it up, or I will rip your throat out with my teeth."

Derek shrugged Laura's hand off and headed for the pantry to get the broom.

Justin eased out of Zhane's hold, "Zhane, this is Laura Hale. Laura, this is my brother Zhane."

Laura smiled and started to offer Zhane her hand, only to laugh as Zhane latched onto her. "Thank you."

Justin shook his head slightly before he was tackled by a pink and yellow whirlwind. Justin carefully patted Cassie's back and tried to find a place on Ashley's back that would lead to Andros glaring at him for daring to touch her. From the way Ashley's shoulders were shaking, Justin thought she was crying. "Andros," Justin said with a solemn smile.

"Justin," Andros said with a slight nod.

"Living room is through there," Justin said, "I'll join you when I can move."

Andros's lips twitched and he slipped past Justin, reaching to touch Ashley's arm and gripping Justin's shoulder instead.

"Justin," TJ said, "I'd hug you but I think Ashley and Cassie have it covered." Justin blinked a few times, eyeing TJ for a moment. He opened his mouth and TJ glared at him, "Don't ask."

"I like it," Justin said, "really, you look good with dreads. The colors are really bright too; usually you don't get that kind of color definition."

Carlos, just behind TJ, grinned, "Thanks Justin. It was a gift from a friend."

"Come on in," Justin said, "mind the glass."

"Our uncle was an acrobat," Laura said, free of Zhane's hug, "every boy in the family over the age of ten tried to jump stairs like he did."

Derek, broom in hand, glowered at Laura, "If that table hadn't been there, I'd have landed it."

"You say that like jumping the stairs is going to be a regular occurrence," Laura replied, "it's not. It's really, really not. Justin, don't encourage him."

_"Me?"_ Justin said, "I'm not the one who jumps the stairs. I don't go upstairs often anyways." He looked at Cassie and Ashley, "We need to move so Derek can clean up his mess."

Ashley squeezed him tightly and stepped back, "Okay," she said with a shaky smile.

Cassie released him a moment later, and then slapped him. "You do not get to die, Justin," she told him. She slapped him again. Justin heard Laura growl in her throat, so he caught Cassie's hand gently before she could slap him again.

"Stop," Justin said firmly. "Let's move into the living room, Cassie. I promised my landlady that we'd keep the destruction to a minimum."

Cassie yanked her hand free and stalked after Ashley into the living room. Justin looked over at Laura, "Justin," Laura said.

"It's okay," Justin replied. "I expected that. Actually, I expected Ashley to punch me first."

"She probably will," Zhane said, "it's just that Cassie's pregnant."

"Good to know," Justin relied.

There were some running feet and then Petra landed in front of the stairs with a loud thud.

"Petra!" Laura said, "I was just saying we _didn't_ do that."

Petra grinned at Laura, "I know." She adjusted her backpack, "I need to get to work. I'll be back later. The twins are down for their nap, there are bottles in the fridge for when they wake up. I'm picking up diapers and formula after work."

"Hey," Justin said, "Petra, my brother Zhane. Zhane, our other house mate, Petra."

Zhane bounded over, avoiding the glass and gave Petra a quick hug. "Thank you," he said as he moved back.

Petra blushed, "You're welcome?"

Zhane chuckled, "I'm just glad I get to come home to my baby brother. You, all three of you, made that possible."

Petra nodded and slipped out the door.

"Zhane," Justin began.

"Hold that thought," Zhane replied as his smile faded. He turned to Laura and bowed slightly, "My heart grieves for you and I hope the shadows of sorrow fades from your path. May the Light return to you in time and the day come that you sit in a garden of roses with those who walked ahead."

Laura frowned for a moment, and then bowed slightly, "Thank you Zhane. If you'll excuse me, I have an essay to finish."

"How's that going?" Justin asked.

Laura gave him a toothy grin, "I've gotten my title sorted out."

"Good," Justin said. He glanced at Zhane as Laura headed for her study again. "I need to talk to you in private today, before you leave. It's _super_ important."

Zhane nodded as he slung an arm over Justin's shoulders, "We'll make time, little brother. Now you have to talk to your friends." He pushed Justin towards the living room.

"You mean I have to be questioned by the Spanish Inquisition," Justin muttered.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Laura shouted. "Do they need the comfy chair?"

"No," Justin replied, mindful of his brother's position, "we'll be fine."

The Astros were standing awkwardly around the living room, like uncertain guests. Justin sighed and pushed Zhane's arm from his shoulders. "Justin?" Zhane said.

"It's fine," Justin said. "So," he clapped his hands together, "do we want the nickel tour or do you guys want to hang by the pool? Laura's going to be searching for the silliest cat photos for a few hours and Derek has a date with the library."

"Not a date," Derek called.

"Figure of speech," Justin shouted back, "all we have to do is keep in mind that there are babies sleeping upstairs that will bring down the wrath of all that is holy if we wake them up."

"Magical?" Zhane asked.

Justin chuckled, "Their mother is a practiced herbalist and the best cook in the house. I have no desire to spend two hours in the bathroom waiting for my stomach to settle because I didn't take her promise to make me pay serious enough."

"Who puts buckthorn berry in a black forest cake?" Laura shouted.

"An angry mother," Derek called back.

"Stop listening to the security system Laura, we're not the matinee at the theater," Justin said. He turned to the Astros, "On second thought, let's go out to the pool. There's no audio out there."

"Lead the way," Andros said.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Laura who finally rescued Justin from the Astros. Laura and the double pram holding Melody and Faith. Cooing over the twins allowed Justin to drag Zhane down to the maid's quarters turned private apartment.

"This is nice," Zhane admitted after Justin showed him around.

"Thanks," Justin said, "Laura wanted me to have space for my needs without feeling like I wasn't apart of things."

"Are you going to explain now?" Zhane asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm going to try," Justin said as he sat down at his desk. "I wrote to you about meeting Laura when it happened, and now that you've seen her, can you really blame me for noticing her?"

"She'd be prettier with her natural hair color, but I know what you mean," Zhane said. "It's like me when I first met Andros. It was just natural to offer to be his friend."

"Exactly," Justin said, "and Laura likes being blond because then people think she's harmless. There were things going on that first weekend that I didn't know at the time, but found out later. Things like Petra's family being psycho-possessive and trying to convince her to go back to them even though they drove her away in the first place. At least, I didn't know what was coming on until Petra's… aunt? I think psycho-bitch was her aunt, great-aunt, something like that. Anyways, the woman led a couple of her biggest and dumbest to batter the front door and steal Petra back."

"You were right in the middle of that, weren't you?" Zhane asked as he settled at Justin's drafting table.

"Not intentionally, but yeah. I got involved when the woman tried to jump Laura from behind while Laura was pulling someone off Derek. It was a mess. Thankfully, Laura's mom had some powerful friends here in New York who helped get the woman to leave and never come back. I got scratched for my troubles, and a rather interesting experience."

"Oh?" Zhane asked.

"Have you ever heard of Lycanthropy?" Justin asked.

Zhane mouthed the word, frowning, and shook his head, "I can't say that I have."

"It's a curse and virus, possibly even native to Earth. It can be passed genetically or through a bite. The virus is a variant of Lupus, if you're doing research. It just has a magical catalyst to become Lycanthropy." Justin shrugged a shoulder, "Lycanthropes have a more common term that you've probably heard of, werewolves."

"What, like those films that Carlos likes so much?" Zhane said.

"Werewolves have very little in common with The Wolfman," Justin said.

"Are you saying that Petra is a, a werewolf?" Zhane asked, "She seemed human."

Justin glared at his brother, "So do you."

Zhane blushed at the reminder that his mother had not been human in the most scientific of sense. "Sorry, but, why I haven't, or anyone, heard of werewolves before?"

"Because it's a secret. Humans don't react well to the wolves, like so many other things, so the werewolves hid themselves. They're dangerous, because they're predators to a factor of ten, but they have the capacity for morality, compassion, love, and everything that any sentient creature has. Humanity as a whole aren't ready to admit there's a second race on Earth that's higher on the food chain than they are and the ones who know mostly aren't on our side of things."

"What do you mean?" Zhane asked.

"Silver isn't deadly to werewolves the way media claims, not the metal itself anyway. There's a hunting family _called_ the Argents who are pretty damn deadly. Hunters are what we have to worry about, humans who seek to keep the werewolves from drawing attention, or preying too much on humans. Supposedly, there's a code they follow, 'We hunt those who hunt us', but it's pretty open to interpretation." Justin pressed his lips together to keep his sneer from becoming a snarl.

"What does that mean?" Zhane asked.

"Someone used the code as justification to kill the Hale Pack, Zhane. They weren't just werewolves either, there were humans in that house too." Justin shifted slightly, "Werewolves tend to form Packs. They're, they're more than a family, there are psychic bonds that tie them all together, humans, werewolves, anyone the Alpha declares as pack is Pack."

"And the Alpha is like the Red?" Zhane asked.

"More like the queen," Justin said. "The Alpha rules the pack, protects her people, and guards her territory. The Pack is made up of betas and humans mostly; there are packs with other non-humans as well. If a werewolf isn't in the Pack, it's called an Omega; they're weaker than other werewolves, easy prey for hunters and the more aggressive packs."

"Where do you come into this equation?" Zhane asked softly.

"I didn't realize at first that Laura wanted to make me Pack, but hesitated because she didn't know me," Justin said, "I just saw, I saw something that looked like a team and I thought I couldn't have it. It's the… reason I…" He cleared his throat, "Laura cleared things up for me afterwards, and invited me into the Pack the next day, literally as soon as I woke up."

"Did it help?" Zhane asked.

"It did," Justin said, "as soon as I accepted, it was like that ache was finally gone. I didn't feel alone any more. That's why Laura's my Alpha now, my leader. Because she saved my life, and she made it better. The Pack has been amazing, Derek and Petra are as good as two more siblings, which helps when you aren't here. They're protective too, which is really novel. When that girl in my psych class wouldn't leave me alone, Petra actually showed up and strongly implied I was the father of her children. We all look out for Derek because he needs it, losing his family like that nearly destroyed him. I'm literally never alone because I can feel the Pack all the time."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you joined a cult," Zhane said.

"Not a cult," Justin laughed, "a _Pack."_ He shifted, pleased with how easy it was to take that mental step to the side that allowed all of his predatory nature free reign.

"She gave you the bite!" Zhane surged to his feet.

"She offered," Justin said, "I accepted. Laura made sure I knew what I was walking into. That'd have trouble with control, that I would hurt and be hurt, that I could maim or kill if I wasn't careful. I know there are hunters out there that would shoot me full of wolfsbane if they knew where I was. I know exactly how dangerous it is. I accepted because I wanted to. I still can't break the morpher, Zhane. I'm not strong enough to risk losing all of it. Becoming a werewolf, joining Laura's Pack? For the first time since the Astro morphers were activated, I feel like a complete person. I'm not bleeding inside from a wound that could never heal. Let me have that, Zhane, let me be whole on my terms."

"Is this because I won't live on Earth?" Zhane asked sitting down.

"No," Justin said. "News flash, it's not about you. It's about me and what I need. Earth is my home. I'm not going anywhere else, ever. Once I get out into space, there's nothing there for me, everything I could have invented already exists and I have to play catch up. I want to be here, on Earth, where things are still possible. I'm not catching up, I'm leading the field with my research. I just wanted family to go along with it."

"Are you happy?" Zhane asked.

"No," Justin said as he knelt at his brother's feet, "but Zhane, I'm clinically depressed. That's why I tried to kill myself. It wasn't even the first time I'd thought about it. I'm not going to just be something as simple as happy. Not for a long time. But I'm getting help and being part of the Pack is helping so much. I'm not happy, but I'm better than I was, and I will be happy. I just have to keep working on it."

Zhane slid off the chair and pulled Justin into a tight hug. "Then that's enough," he whispered into Justin's shoulder as he squeezed him tight.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Yelling was not something many werewolves did, they didn't have to. Slightly raised voices could be as loud as a shout to an unsuspecting werewolf.

Laura's howl of outrage shook the rafters the morning after the Astros's visit. "Justin, get up here!" She bellowed.

Justin threw himself out of bed, grabbing a shirt as he stumbled through his room and out to the stairs. A stench was seeping down from the house, something that made Justin think of a farm. "I'm coming Laura," he called as he bounded up the stairs and pulled his shirt on.

Midway up the stairs, just as he popped his head from the shirt, a sound filled the air.

Justin slammed the door open, "That wasn't-"

The living room, dining room, and kitchen had been filled with cows. Black and white, four legged, living, _breathing cows._

"What the hell?" Justin demanded.

"Justin," Laura said, storming around the cows with a piece of paper in her hands, "Read this!"

"Hope you're moooving in went well?" Justin read, "Happy Intergalactic… CARLOS!" Justin barely noticed the card being ripped to shreds as he clenched his fist. "Fucking Greenies, I swear," he said and headed for the phone.

"What?" Laura asked.

"Carlos used to be a green ranger, green rangers prank people," Justin said as he punched in the number that would ring the megaship.

"Astro Megaship, this is TJ."

"TJ, its Justin. I need to have words with Carlos. Either put him on the phone or teleport me up, your choice." Justin growled, ignoring how his voice sounded with fangs in the way.

"I'll get him," TJ said, "hold on."

Justin flexed his hand watching how his claws popped in and out on command, it was almost soothing and served to pull back the shift enough to let him sound normal. "Hey Justin," Carlos said.

"Carlos," Justin said, "why are there cows in my living room?"

"Not a clue," Carlos said with a laugh.

"Let me rephrase that," Justin snarled, "_why did you put cows in my living room?"_

"It was a joke, man, lighten up." Carlos said.

"I didn't find it funny, and neither did my roommates," Justin said. "Now, you have two choices here. You can teleport the cows and their mess back to wherever you got them and I'll hold Laura back."

"Or?" Carlos asked.

"Or I will rip your throat out," Justin said, feeling his fangs drop and let his voice become heavy with the threat of violence, "with my teeth."

"Teleporting now," Carlos said after a moment.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Justin said and hung up.

There was a burst of static as the cows vanished in a flash of light.


End file.
